January 23, 2008
Thin-film Solar
For many years, the German and Japanese governments offered generous subsidies for the installation of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems for generating electricity without greenhouse gas emissions. This has helped to spur the solar industry around the world and there have been massive investments in recent years. In the US, California is offering incentives over the next decade to create 3,000 MW of solar power for existing and new commercial, residential, and industrial sites.
High profile initiatives like these have spurred investment into solar PV technologies. The dominant technology is polysilicon based cells, which are in 94% of all solar modules. Although made from sand, refining the silicon is still expensive and is one of the bottlenecks to creating more affordable cells.
In the past couple decades, there have been growing interest and investment in thin-film alternatives that would cost the fraction of the price of silicon cells. These include cadmium-telluride (CdTe), copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS), and amorphous silicon. All the major VCs in California are now investing or taking a hard look at these technologies.
Among the numerous startups that are exploring thin-film materials, FirstSolar, Inc., which uses the CdTe platform, is regarded as the darling of the industry and has seen its stock price (FSLR) jump from $100 per share in July 2007 to over $250 per share today. Analysts at American Technology rate the stock as a “buy.” Many others believe FirstSolar also has the price advantage when it comes to thin-films.
In November 2007, First Solar announced it would make a major expansion. They will build four production lines in Malaysia with a capacity of 557 MW of output per year, allowing for an additional $1 billion in sales.
Notes:
www.cleantech.org plans to list a solar indice
Great source of info (proprietary): www.solarbuzz.com
BP and ASU in Biological Carbon Capture Research
It has known for quite some time that algae can rapidly absorb CO2 through photosynthesis. Some scientist believe they can be engineered into a crop that is ideal for capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and using it to produce animal feed and produce biofuel in a sustainable way.
Now, BP and Arizona State University have entered into a partnership to develop photosynthetic bacteria that can produce oil by taking CO2 emissions from power generating stations.
The team will be looking at optimizing a microbe that would take energy from the sun and convert CO2 into oil like substances. Ideally, the process can be scaled up anywhere, even on dry land.
Unlike biofuels produced from corn, the process would not be energy intensive and the overall reductions in greenhouse gas emissions would be significantly less.
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/news_third.cfm?NewsID=36199
Links
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/03/us/03suit.html?hp=&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1199386818-jamrJOPJ3ybsquz8N70sJQ
http://www.gosolarcalifornia.ca.gov/
投稿者 econetworks : 06:38 PM | コメント (0) | トラックバック
EPA Regulations
The fight is on. California, along with 15 other states, is now suing the US EPA for blocking their authority to regulate pollutants. In an unprecedented move, the EPA is no longer granting states waivers that have for many years allowed them to set greenhouse gas emissions levels for new cars and trucks.
The current administration believes that a new federal mandate would be more efficient in curbing emissions and has denied states to further waivers.
In an article in the New York Times, Felicity Barringer writes:
“California officials argue that the agency had no legal or technical justification for blocking the new standards. The E.P.A. administrator, Stephen L. Johnson, said when announcing the decision that a new federal fuel-economy mandate would be more efficient in curbing pollution than the state standards.”
Environmentalists say that the automobile industry has exerted pressure on the EPA so that it could escape from more stringent California regulations
The proposed California standards would have required automakers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent in new cars and light trucks by 2016, beginning with 2009 models. Cars and light vehicles would need to have a mileage of at least 43 miles per gallon (18 km/l). In contrast, the new federal mandate only requires a performance of 35 miles per gallon (15 km/l) by 2020 and does not limit emissions.